We had a few day trip adventures in Thailand as well. We had a guide take us out into the hills where you can ride elephants. We had been talking about doing this for a long time. And it was amazing.
We had three elephants for the seven of us. Sam and Si got their own, Sol and Peter, and Me and Roo and Gid. They were so fun. The 'trainer' (for lack of a better word) sat on their necks with and had a big metal stick to hit them with. (We ALL hated this!) But I realize that elephants are not dainty creatures and it takes a lot to get their attention. Ours didn't really have to give more than a tap, but even that seemed a little harsh.
We walked through the jungle for a while until we came to a river that had been dammed. We all got off the elephants before getting into the water. The trainers took them in and got them comfy, and it took a while to convince our kids it was okay to get in and play with them. I was quite apprehensive myself, I must say. We decided to just play with one elephant, that way we could all be together and keep an eye on the kids. The one we played with was named Pombouy. Apparently, this translates to 'fatty'. We liked that and laughed a lot. They let us scrub them with a hard bristled brush. We got to climb on them, sit on their necks, and just hug and play with them in general. Pretty much a dream come true right here folks. Some of the kids were thrilled, others - not so much. I'll put some pictures in here and you can see for yourself.
After a ride back to the elephant home and getting to feed them bananas, we headed home to play in the pool sans elephants. The next day we rode bamboo rafts down a jungle river. They were about 12 feet long peices of bamboo tied together with rope. A man stood on the front and guided us down the river. Making sure to point out the huge snakes curled up sleeping in the trees above us. I swear. Sometimes I think I must be crazy for taking the kids on things like this. Too bad we all love it so much! We were on three rafts again and they stopped in a large bed in the river for us to get out and swim in. While we were all goofing around and having fun, I looked at Peter and said "I cannot believe I have taken my young kids swimming in a river in Thailand. Like it's no big deal!" I mean, did I not just see the snakes above us? Oh well. It was super fun and I'm so glad we did it!
Another day we went to a sea turtle farm. Oh! They are SO cute. This farm is actually tanks where the sea turtles are able to grow safely. From the size of a silver dollar, to full grown. Many tanks with turtles at all different stages along the way. We loved seeing them up close and personal. We also stopped at a local waterfall and everyone, but me, went swimming. I really didn't feel like it. It was SO busy with locals. I was enjoying watching local families come to this place to wash. I'm serious. They brought their shampoo and everything. It was quite funny. They were washing themselves, clothes and all. What a different world we live in!
We also stopped at a memorial for the many, many people that died in the tsunami about 10 years ago. What a tragedy. We were right at the location of the hardest hit area in Asia. I had to not think about it. I also didn't see the movie The Impossible before we went. I'm going to watch it, I think. But then I probably wont be able to go back. The thought of a wall of water coming like that absolutely stops my breathing. Almost every person we talked to lost someone on that terrible day. Entire families swept away. Our guide for the week happened to be doing a tour up in the hills at the time, and lived. But his fiance was working in town and was killed. These people don't have much as it is. Then to lose everything. It was very sobering and made us count our blessings.
Sad.
On another note.
So you can see; we had a great time. We learned a lot about this little spot of the world. We would go back in a second. So fun!
Oh. Oops. I mean minus almost dying of food poisoning. No. Really. And the worst part is I got it from our 5 star Marriott resort. Not the street food. Not the beach stalls. Nope. I know exactly where I got it from, and I even second guessed myself. If you've ever had food poisoning, and I mean really had it. You know what I'm talking about. You would rather be dead. Very luckily for me, it was the evening before we flew out. So I was wishing for death all night, and at four a.m. it stopped (but the terrible pain didn't), we got in the car and drove 1.5 hours to the airport, then traveled home. It was 24 hours before we actually arrived home and I don't remember most of the trip. Thank you tylenol PM, I will never travel without you. Once in Dubai I was feeling a little better, but it was quite a recovery. I'm just so thankful it didn't ruin our trip. Phew!
We had three elephants for the seven of us. Sam and Si got their own, Sol and Peter, and Me and Roo and Gid. They were so fun. The 'trainer' (for lack of a better word) sat on their necks with and had a big metal stick to hit them with. (We ALL hated this!) But I realize that elephants are not dainty creatures and it takes a lot to get their attention. Ours didn't really have to give more than a tap, but even that seemed a little harsh.
We walked through the jungle for a while until we came to a river that had been dammed. We all got off the elephants before getting into the water. The trainers took them in and got them comfy, and it took a while to convince our kids it was okay to get in and play with them. I was quite apprehensive myself, I must say. We decided to just play with one elephant, that way we could all be together and keep an eye on the kids. The one we played with was named Pombouy. Apparently, this translates to 'fatty'. We liked that and laughed a lot. They let us scrub them with a hard bristled brush. We got to climb on them, sit on their necks, and just hug and play with them in general. Pretty much a dream come true right here folks. Some of the kids were thrilled, others - not so much. I'll put some pictures in here and you can see for yourself.
After a ride back to the elephant home and getting to feed them bananas, we headed home to play in the pool sans elephants. The next day we rode bamboo rafts down a jungle river. They were about 12 feet long peices of bamboo tied together with rope. A man stood on the front and guided us down the river. Making sure to point out the huge snakes curled up sleeping in the trees above us. I swear. Sometimes I think I must be crazy for taking the kids on things like this. Too bad we all love it so much! We were on three rafts again and they stopped in a large bed in the river for us to get out and swim in. While we were all goofing around and having fun, I looked at Peter and said "I cannot believe I have taken my young kids swimming in a river in Thailand. Like it's no big deal!" I mean, did I not just see the snakes above us? Oh well. It was super fun and I'm so glad we did it!
Another day we went to a sea turtle farm. Oh! They are SO cute. This farm is actually tanks where the sea turtles are able to grow safely. From the size of a silver dollar, to full grown. Many tanks with turtles at all different stages along the way. We loved seeing them up close and personal. We also stopped at a local waterfall and everyone, but me, went swimming. I really didn't feel like it. It was SO busy with locals. I was enjoying watching local families come to this place to wash. I'm serious. They brought their shampoo and everything. It was quite funny. They were washing themselves, clothes and all. What a different world we live in!
We also stopped at a memorial for the many, many people that died in the tsunami about 10 years ago. What a tragedy. We were right at the location of the hardest hit area in Asia. I had to not think about it. I also didn't see the movie The Impossible before we went. I'm going to watch it, I think. But then I probably wont be able to go back. The thought of a wall of water coming like that absolutely stops my breathing. Almost every person we talked to lost someone on that terrible day. Entire families swept away. Our guide for the week happened to be doing a tour up in the hills at the time, and lived. But his fiance was working in town and was killed. These people don't have much as it is. Then to lose everything. It was very sobering and made us count our blessings.
Sad.
On another note.
So you can see; we had a great time. We learned a lot about this little spot of the world. We would go back in a second. So fun!
Oh. Oops. I mean minus almost dying of food poisoning. No. Really. And the worst part is I got it from our 5 star Marriott resort. Not the street food. Not the beach stalls. Nope. I know exactly where I got it from, and I even second guessed myself. If you've ever had food poisoning, and I mean really had it. You know what I'm talking about. You would rather be dead. Very luckily for me, it was the evening before we flew out. So I was wishing for death all night, and at four a.m. it stopped (but the terrible pain didn't), we got in the car and drove 1.5 hours to the airport, then traveled home. It was 24 hours before we actually arrived home and I don't remember most of the trip. Thank you tylenol PM, I will never travel without you. Once in Dubai I was feeling a little better, but it was quite a recovery. I'm just so thankful it didn't ruin our trip. Phew!
No comments:
Post a Comment